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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547160">Dragons and Puppy Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv'>shnuffeluv</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Two Princes (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Children, Alternate Universe - Middle Grade Girls' Equestrian Novel but Dragons Instead of Horses, Crushes, Dragons, F/F, Implied Femslash</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:34:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547160</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/shnuffeluv/pseuds/shnuffeluv</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Joan has always wanted to see the dragons. One day, she gets to. But seeing dragons doesn't come without trouble.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cecily/Joan (Two Princes Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bulletproof 20/21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dragons and Puppy Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiditallbefore/gifts">saiditallbefore</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> Joan watched the dragons in the field with nothing short of envy. She had snuck away from her father, letting him tend to the pigs on his own. She had been eyeing the new owners of the dragons all week, making sure that they were treating them right. Now, the sun was setting, and they were getting their last romp in before heading to the stables. She ducked under the fence as she saw a couple of the riders head out from the main house towards the field. She didn't want to be labeled as "that crazy dragon girl" at school, but her heart yearned to be able to ride a dragon some day.</p>
<p>She peered through a hole in the wood to see what the dragons were doing, only to have an eye stare at her right back. She yelped, bolting away from the fence as fast as she could. She knew she was trespassing, she knew she was about to get in huge trouble. She ran as far and as fast as she could, only for someone to grab her by the dreads and drag her back to the big house. She struggled, and fought, but whoever had grabbed her merely tossed her over their shoulder and kept walking. She knew her father would be far from pleased. She wanted to see the dragons up close and personal since forever, and her father had forbade it.</p>
<p>When she was plopped down in a chair in the big house's kitchen, the man who had been carrying her said, "If you know what's good for you, you'll stay sitting in that chair, miss."</p>
<p>Joan sneered at him but didn't move. She didn't move when he left, nor when the new owner of the stables sat across from her. "You must have been quite a sneaky girl, slipping past the guards to get a look at the dragons," he said. "My daughter was much the same, once upon a time."</p>
<p>Not daring to say anything, Joan traced the patterns in the wood with her finger.</p>
<p>"May I at least have your name, miss?" the man asked.</p>
<p>She didn't say anything.</p>
<p>The man sighed. "I wish I didn't have to do this," he said. "But it appears you've left me with no choice."</p>
<p>Joan glanced up just in time to see the man gesture for someone to come into the room, and a voice she faintly recognized said, "Her name's Joan. She's in my English class."</p>
<p>Looking behind her, Joan saw the new girl at school. She had been called up to the front of the class to introduce herself, and the boys had teased her for the spots on her face. <em>Vitiligo,</em> the teacher had called it. Not something to tease someone about.</p>
<p>The girl sat down next to Joan and swung her legs at the table. "Don't get her in trouble, Daddy, <em>please.</em> You said that she was just like me!"</p>
<p>"Her parents deserve to know where she's gone, Cecily," the man said.</p>
<p>"But she's just wanting to see the dragons!" Cecily said.</p>
<p>"We don't know that for certain," the man said. "She hasn't said a word since we found her."</p>
<p>Joan flushed and glowered at the man in front of her. "I'm not spying for a competitor, if that's what you're worried about," she said. "And I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble, or steal a dragon for myself. I wanted to make sure you were caring for them properly. You are. End of story."</p>
<p>"See, Daddy? She just wanted to make sure we were taking care of them! That's nothing to be worried about!" Cecily exclaimed. "We could just say that she was sleeping over at our place! I invited her over and she came! That's not a crime!"</p>
<p>"To my father, it is," Joan muttered darkly, barely audible.</p>
<p>The two looked at Joan, but she didn't say anything else, just went back to tracing the wood grain. The man sighed. "Cecily..."</p>
<p>"Daddy, <em>please,"</em> Cecily insisted. "She's my friend."</p>
<p>Joan furrowed her eyebrows. She and Cecily had barely exchanged five words between them. Some boys had knocked down her books at school and Joan had helped Cecily pick them up. Cecily had muttered a "Thank you," and they had gone their separate ways. Was that what constituted friends in her book?</p>
<p>Cecily's dad sighed again. "Her father is the farmer down the road?"</p>
<p>"Yes, he is," Joan sighed.</p>
<p>"He's been asking if you snuck up here to see the dragons," Cecily's dad said. "He apparently knows you're rather enthusiastic about them."</p>
<p>Joan's lips thinned into a line. "I know," she bit. "He doesn't approve of my 'silly little daydreams'."</p>
<p>Cecily's dad tutted. "Well, that won't do," he said. "Cecily, show Joan the dragons up close tonight."</p>
<p>Joan's head snapped up to look at the man. "What?" she asked, voice quiet and hoarse.</p>
<p>"Well, it's what we do for all girls who are interested in dragons when Cecily has a sleepover," the man said with a little smile. "I'll speak to your father. Cecily, go on and show her."</p>
<p>Cecily beamed and stood, dragging Joan to her feet and out into the field. "Come on! You heard him!" Cecily laughed.</p>
<p>Joan silently followed Cecily out into the field, where a few of the dragons came over to observe them. Joan's breath caught in her throat. "They're beautiful," she managed to choke out.</p>
<p>"They are," Cecily agreed with a smile. "I've been riding them practically since I could walk."</p>
<p>"Lucky!" Joan exclaimed. "I've only every gotten to see them as they go off to the shows before. I've never even gotten to pet one."</p>
<p>"Do you want to?" Cecily asked. "They can be a little nervous, but if you're calm they'll work with you."</p>
<p>Joan silently nodded. Cecily showed her how to hold her hand out to them, and when Joan did so, a dragon nestled its face into her hand. Her eyes lit up like she had never seen something so amazing. "They're so...warm," she said.</p>
<p>"They're really interesting," Cecily said. "They're warm like this because of the magic used to keep the field warm. They're lizards, so they're cold blooded. But they absorb the feet from the warm ground and they're super gentle and warm to the touch as a result."</p>
<p>Joan had never seen something so amazing before. "I don't believe it," she breathed. "It's just...they're perfect."</p>
<p>Cecily grinned at her. "This coming from the girl who punches all the bullies who ever mention the word 'dragons' around her?"</p>
<p>"They prefer to see dragons fight to the death or race until they can barely stand than take care of them," Joan said with a scowl. "And they think I'm weird for liking them just the way they are."</p>
<p>Cecily nodded knowingly. "I know the type," she said. "At my old school, they were the ones who asked if the spots on my face were because a dragon did something horrible to it and the spots were scars."</p>
<p>"That's terrible!" Joan gasped.</p>
<p>Cecily shrugged. "I'm used to it," she said. "Sometimes, people just aren't worth your time."</p>
<p>Joan shook her head. "You always have to worry about what people think of you. That's what my dad says. If you ever want a self-respecting husband, you have to make yourself look respectable," she spat. "I don't want a husband. Boys are gross."</p>
<p>"I like boys, sometimes," Cecily said. "But I also like girls, too."</p>
<p>Joan blinked. "That's an option?" she asked.</p>
<p>Cecily nodded solemnly. "Most people don't realize," she said. "But you can."</p>
<p>"I'd much prefer girls to boys," Joan said.</p>
<p>Cecily smiled. "I prefer girls to boys most of the time, too. But it's nice when a boy makes my heart skip beats. Did you ever hear about Prince Rupert? He's a dreamboat."</p>
<p>"He's the one who would eat paste in kindergarten!" Joan laughed. "He's nothing much to look at!"</p>
<p>Cecily giggled. "I like you, Joan. You're pretty cool."</p>
<p>"O-oh, thank you. You're...uh...you're nice, too," she said, stammering over her words.</p>
<p>"Do you want to learn how to ride dragons? None of the people I've talked to at school have an interest, but there's a draconian match happening at the end of the year that I think you'd be great at!"</p>
<p>"I'd love to!" Joan said. "Th-that is, if my father allows it."</p>
<p>"I'm sure he will," Cecily said. "If nothing else, they pay the winners well."</p>
<p>Joan knew that would get her father invested, even if nothing else did. "How do we convince him before the money comes in? After all, he doesn't take much stock in daydreams."</p>
<p>"Well, you're a natural with dragons! I'm sure that you could learn to ride one by tomorrow morning, and you can show your dad, and come up here to practice every day! And...you could probably help me with my English lessons. I'm not the best at them."</p>
<p>"Of course I can help you!" Joan said. "Helping others is the right thing to do, after all!"</p>
<p>The rest of the night, Cecily and Joan talked about dragons and riding techniques. It was well into the wee hours of the morning when they finally slept, and when they woke up, Cecily dragged Joan out back to the stables to choose a dragon to ride. None of them seemed really interested in her, until a red and yellow one bounded up to her and blew smoke in her face. She climbed onto him just like Cecily taught her, and the dragon took off. She whooped as she went airborne, the wind blowing through her short-cropped hair. "This is amazing!" she called down to Cecily.</p>
<p>Carefully, she brought the dragon back down and she laughed at Cecily's stunned expression. "What?" she asked.</p>
<p>"Porridge has never let anyone ride him like that before!" Cecily exclaimed. "He barely lets me come over to feed him! You're a natural with him, though!"</p>
<p>"Oh, thanks..." Joan said, blushing. Why was she so nervous around Cecily?</p>
<p>She could hear her father and the man from last night talking and she turned to see the man pointing at her. When she turned to look at her dad, he gave her a begrudging thumbs-up. "We have his blessing!" Joan exclaimed excitedly. "Dragon-riding, here I come!"</p>
<p>Cecily squealed and kissed Joan on the cheek. Joan's face flamed red, but she knew that nothing could be better than riding dragons...and getting closer to Cecily along the way.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Any and all comments are welcome!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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